Next day:
How could she sleep whole night?
She was trying so hard to sleep, but her disturbed mind never left her alone.
The moment she heard her aunt wake up, she woke up too. While her mom, dad and
others are still fast asleep. It was 5 am in the morning and she was waiting
for the sunrise.
Aunty: Oh sweety!! Why did you
wake up so early?
Harini: Just like that aunty. Why
did you wake up so early?
Aunty: (laughs)- I have so much
to do… before your grandfather goes on his walk I must be done with teas and
coffees prepared for everyone and before anything I have to look at the cows,
feed them, clean the veranda and get prepared for the rest of the day.
She keeps walking and talking- as
she collects hay enough for the cows in the shed..
Harini: (walking along with her
aunty)- don’t you want o brush your teeth and wash yourself before all this?
Aunty: yes I will. Once I am done
with the cows, I am going to start with my brushing and freshening and other
regular activities.
They walk to the corner of the
wall in the backyard where they generally freshen-up. Aunty is busy crushing
the charcoal…
Harini: What are you doing aunty?
Aunty: Nothing… why don’t you go and get your toothpaste and
brush…?
Harini: I will get it, but what
are you doing? (her aunty has the crushed coal powder in her left palm)
Aunty: Well, I am going brush my
teeth in the meanwhile you too go get your necessities to freshen-up. We will
then go to the garden and get some flowers and also decorate the entrance with
some designs…
Harini jumped immediately and
rushed to her bag, unable to find her things- she wakes- up her mom
Irritated with her rudeness- Lakshmi:
Whats with you Harini, you don’t event let mama sleep well.
She gets back to the backyard and
goes to her aunt… she screams of shock->
Aunty…. Your mouth is all black…
throw that…
Aunty: stops it immediately and
says, stop it.. don’t scream everyone will wake up.. This is what we use to
brush our tooth..
Harini: really! Aunty show your
teeth.. (she tried hard to peep in and see if her aunt’s tooth was still white
as hers or not) and continues in amazement
Aunty, if brushing teeth was so
simple, why should I use my toothpaste and brush? Give some of your black
powder to me too…
Aunty: Oh no dear child, this is
for older ones only. Kids don’t use this. Come lets do some work.
Jumping like a baby deer, she
goes after her aunt… He aunt cleans the veranda, spreads the cow-dung to
flatten the ground and starts with some dots and curves along the sides. Harini
not knowing what it was tries her hand on it too… her aunt stops her as she
felt that Harini would spoil her effort and engages her in some conversation… Tired
with the talks so uninteresting, Harini run’s in…
She kept running from one room to
another, from one corner of the hall to another; she kept waking one person
after the other in search of her grand father. Finally she stopped after her
failed attempt. Goes out again to her aunt and asks her where her grandpa was…
Aunty: Well, your grandpa just
went out…
Harini: What? He went out did you
say? But where? How can he go like that?
Aunty: Why are you so worried? He
will come soon..
Harini: No… I am waiting to go
out with him..
Harini did not know that people
in villages wake early to go to a far distance to defecate. She thought it was
all organised as it was in her city. Aunty did not know how to explain this,
she says:
Generally elders go out in the
morning to a far place to see the sunrise. To see the early morning sunrise is
good for health and keeps one fit. This is meant for elders only as only they
know the process to be followed to keep their health fit. Now don’t worry, go
back and sleep or take shower, I am going to be busy… alright?
Harini: frowningly- with perfunctory
lips protruding out says - No aunty.. grandpa cheated me… He said he will take
me along with him on morning walk and show me kanchus…
Aunty: What? Kanchus… what do you
do with kanchus? They are not meant for you… its a boy thing baby… now stop crying.. I’ll show
you something which is girly today.. okay?
Harini: no aunty… no no no…
Aunt stops her try to divert her
mind.. and continues with her work… coming back slowly to home is her grandpa…
walking home with his Lungi held in one hand and a plastic tumbler in the other…
From a distance harini sees him and screams… Thatha… (Grandpa)…. And runs towards
him… while he shoves her away.. Harini ignored it and held his wrist and
continued… why do you leave me and go? Come lets go and find them…
Grandpa murmurs to his
daughter-in-law- how to answer this girl? And laughs vaguely… while she
answers, I told her you went to pray to sun god… you better keep it going, else
she’s gonna eat your brains up to find the right answer… and laughs
Grandpa: baby, I’d been to do
some regular work. I haven’t still gone on walk. Go get me some tea, aunty will
give. Then we will get freshened and go on our walk.
Happy harini… laughs. She whisper’s
in her grandpa’s ears… did you know a while ago aunty’s tooth was black…
giggles… she was looking so ugly.. don’t tell her I told ok… grandpa nods his
head… promise… she leads her hand out. He dint know what it meant… he just held
her palm… she goes in to get him his tea cup.. grandpa murmurs all alone- crazy
girl…
In no minute she rushes out with hot cup of
tea… seeking help to get rid of the heat, she runs shouting…
thatha…. He runs
insides towards her and immediately takes the tea cup from her hand.. he says
aloud, could not someone give it in a plate, how does the child know to hold a
hot cup of tea and walks her out. He tells her to get ready to go on his
regular morning walk. In an hour’s time both walk out ready to take a stroll
into the village. As they start to walk, harini starts with her story about how
she spent whole night, her fanciful dreams, her wishful thoughts about this
morning and so on… grandpa continues to laugh and nod and humms and haahhhsss…
As they continue to walk into the
village they are greeted by various people; people going to the field, ladies
filling their pots of water carrying them to their homes… pots and pots
everywhere, on their waist, on their head, in their hands, all very well
balanced… most of the scenes from the village where very interesting, and
shocking to Harini.. At times she wondered how people were so talented, how
they learnt the way they were and how she was ignorant of so many things. Sometimes she her grandpa about who was
wishing him, sometimes who would ignore him, sometimes to which place they were
headed and sometimes bang on agenda- where were the kanchus… Grandpa was just loaded with questions and
blank of answers… there go, on and on and on…. Like as if they were nomads
going to no-where that they know.
